Fine seafood dining at Sam's By The Sea

If you’ve been on the island long enough, it’s near impossible to miss a variation of Sam’s restaurant somewhere around. With branches such as the Anchor’s Inn, the Café, and By the Sea, I don’t know who is running the sales department over at Sam’s but give that guy a medal! Still, I think most of the credit belongs to the food as Sam’s is able to consistently deliver good quality gourmet dining. Let’s talk a little bit more about one of their more prestigious branches – the Sam’s by the Sea.

For the interior, decorated like an old wooden ship, the whole atmosphere blends together as a sea voyage theme with the servers even dressed up as cabin boys/girls. Manager dressed like the captain of course. The appetizer soup stewing on a huge sea bucket hanging from a wooden anchor was a nice touch. The whole thing was quite jesty if you ask me. But, in a good way.

Not your typical pirate bone soup but sure looks like it!

For the food, it’s a surf n’ turf style through and through. The menu pretty much splits into seafood or beef with some combo platters that include both. I obviously recommend getting both (if you can afford it). I consider myself more as a carnivore and so usually I would go for the turf dish but in the case of Sam’s by the Sea, 90% of the time, I find myself ordering the Macadamia nut crusted Mahi-Mahi – a pan seared Mahi-Mahi on top of cream spinach with pesto pasta. Bullseye (or rather, Sharkseye), every, single, time. Most of their main dishes already come with bread/rice, soup, and salad so you don’t have to worry about quantity.

Foodie tip: look around newspaper clippings or online for coupons. Sam’s usually has an offer where you can get a free appetizer shrimp cocktail which in itself is a nice attention grabber. Perfect for when you are low in conversation with your date or trying to wow some out-of-towners.

Since it is a bit more on the fancy side, the price range for Sam’s by the Sea is a bit more on the heavier side. Expect to dish out around 2,000 to 3,000 yen per person. I recommend Sam’s for family eats, friends, tourists, or if you are just hankering for something new. To get there, head north on Awase bay street. When you hit the Awase Bijuru intersection, turn right all the way till you reach the end, then turn left. Sam’s will be along that street in about 100 meters.